The Green among the Grey
by nepetax101
Summary: Karkat never imagined he'd ever meet a girl like Nepeta, one who was literally wild. As in, she lived with the lions and the wolves and the elephants and the other wildlife which he, Sollux, and Gamzee were hunting. Never once did he imagine he would fall madly in love with her ideas of the world. Never in his life did he imagine he'd fall in love with her.
1. Chapter 1

Karkat sighed heavily, kicking the heavy boots off his feet, swinging the heavy rifle over his head, and muttering strings of curses the entire process. He rubbed his tired eyes, thanking Gog he wasn't on watch right now. Sollux had taken the first shift this time, although not after a small argument with him and Gamzee for continuously leaving him with the shift. He laid down on the thin pad he had to call a bed. He gritted his teeth as pebbles dug into his back, knowing he probably shouldn't be complaining too much, he did get the thickest bed. Well, he got the_ only_ bed. Gamzee and Sollux had opted for sleeping bags, which were thinner and less comfortable to Karkat. Pulling the even thinner blanket over him, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

"KK, get your louthy ath up." All too soon, Sollux was shaking Karkat to get him up for his shift. He grumbled a magnitude of curses, ranging from "fucktard" to "fuck off". Sollux only left Karkat's tent when the tinier troll was finally coherent and sitting up. Slowly Karkat shoved his feet into the heavy boots yet again, swung the all too heavy rifle over his head like a sling, and marched his way near the tree. Why did I accept this offer? he thought to himself. Sollux and Gamzee ran an underground poaching business, hunting animals for certain traits for certain clients with certain needs. This job had been a big one, and Karkat needed the money desperately. Of course Karkat thought about how he could end up mauled by some over sized cat, how they could all get caught and spend quality time in jail, and even thought about the irritating amount of time they all would be spending together when Sollux had asked him to join them. After awhile, Karkat agreed, for money's sake.

This order was tall, the client wanted a few cheetah's skin, a few lion's skin, both of which were endangered species. Karkat's only job was to take over watch duties, which were to ensure no animals got to their camp and no other poachers took over their territory. He was fine with this, up until he realized how tired he was and continued getting. His usual grumpy mood was turned onto over drive with the sleep deprivation. Soon, though, Karkat's watchful eyes went to a close as he laid against the perimeter tree they had marked. He soon fell into a deeper sleep than normal, hearing soft singing of a beautiful, angelic, wispy voice coming from the forest like a lullaby.


	2. Chapter 2

"What the actual fuck Karkat!" Gamzee growled, scowling at with the troll laid up against the tree. Karkat groggily lifted up his head, rubbing his eyes as his vision wavered and quivered to readjust to the light. "Sollux get your ass over here!" Gamzee barked, slamming his fists into the tree, mere centimeters above the horns of Karkat. Karkat flinched, yelping slightly as his lisped friend stomped his way over to the pair. "Nothing much was tholen, just a bit of food and water. Perhapth a native? Didn't even know they were thill around." Sollux said, mainly to himself. Gamzee growled louder, hitting his hands harder against the tree. Karkat yelped again, twitching more. "This son of a bitch could of ruined this whole job! _And you're fucking worried about **who stole the food?!**_" Gamzee shook his head, walking away from the two.

Sollux shook his head, staring at Karkat. "I'm so sorry Sollux, but nothing bad really happened..." "Fuck off KK.". And with that, Sollux followed Gamzee's path. Karkat sighed, watching as Sollux walked off after Gamzee.

He stood up, stretching his sore muscles. His eyes scanned his surroundings, and his eyes quickly passed over a pair of soft, green eyes. He reverted his gaze back to the area he saw them, and shook his head in disbelief as he saw that the eyes were no longer there. His legs moved toward the camp, but it appeared Karkat left his head at that tree. Was that just an animal? Or was it a person? Karkat's head swirled at the thought eyes.

They were the first soft, nonthreatening eyes he had seen in awhile. Gamzee was gun crazy the past few days, nearly killing Karkat over calling him a "Fucking unintelligent Fuckface." And Sollux, Sollux didn't even look at him anymore really. If they talked it was a series of curses and insults to one another, usually resulting in Karkat's body being littered with bruises from both the Gemini and the Capricorn. He shuddered as he came closer to the camp. Gamzee and Sollux had gotten to be such strict, hard asses with Karkat about this mission. What exactly made this one so important? Why did they bring him along? Was there an ulterior motive? Karkat reeled at those thoughts, flinching as he heard a gun go off, than ran full speed to see if Sollux was alright.

The minute Karkat arrived, he yelped at what he saw. There, bleeding the muddy yellow blood, was Sollux, with a gun shot straight through the stomach. And also there, stood the Purple Blood, holding a smoking gun.


	3. Chapter 3

Karkat's eyes filled with rage, but he cowered as Gamzee turned to point the gun on him. His eyes weren't the same anymore. The pupils were smaller, and his iris's were purple, rather than yellow. He was shivering and shaking, twitching and muttering to himself, but his aim on Karkat was steady. Karkat stood still, watching as his yellow blooded friend bled out in front of him. He knew the Gemini was still alive, but just barely. His chest was moving up and down slowly, and his weak, yellowed hand covering the wound slightly. The silence was painful, knowing that the gun was pointed in his direction. He closed his eyes, took in a breath of air, and spoke.

"Pl-Please let me help to him..." His voice was cracked, and he knew it did. For once, his words weren't laced with insult and fumed by curse words, they were filled with concern and pleads. Soon after they were spoken, a hoarse laugh erupted from Gamzee's lips, his head throwing back in joyous fun. His laugh was that of an insane clown, his hair a disheveled mess as his mouth opened up wide to laugh more and more, fangs clearly visible. The laugh continued for what seemed like ages to the Cancer. He shivered as each time Gamzee began to calm down, the laugh rebuilt itself, continuously going on and on, etching itself into Karkat's mind. Karkat gulped, shivering as his friend's breathing continued to slow down. "Please..." Gamzee's laughter ceased the minute the word left Karkat's mouth. "So...the motherfucker's gonna beg now?" he chuckled darkly, lifting the gun yet again to aim at Karkat.

Karkat hadn't heard the gun go off, or if he did, he was too paralyzed to notice. His breathing hitched, then released to a scream as the bullet dug itself into his stomach. He fell to the ground with a thud, his red blood pouring from the wound. His body was in shock at the moment, and he would of smiled to know that his body wasn't registering the pain just yet. His vision was fuzzy, and he couldn't quite see the facial expressions Gamzee was making, but was surprised to see the clown was crouched to the ground. In pain maybe? No...no what could he be in pain about? A blurred figure stood in front of him, kneeling down, staring at him, and in doing this, blocking his view of the clown. He squinted, remembering the soft green eyes, and how much the ones staring at him resembled them. He weakly reached his hand out, before dropping it mere centimeters from the face. His breathing slowed as his hand hit the ground. His eyes began to flutter shut. The shock let him loose consciousness in peace and quiet.

* * *

_Where am I? Am I dead? the young troll asked himself, wandering about a black oblivion. His eyes were looking for any form of light, and his body ached. He walked endlessly to nowhere, to no destination. The black seemed to go on forever, and his body wanted to just stop and collapse. Until he saw them, the eyes again. He smiled and ran now, toward the soft orbs. His smile wore down to a frown, and his speed decreased as the eyes turned to purple. He stopped dead, and heard the same harsh voice. "Hey motherfucker. Didn't think you were gonna get away that easy now did ya?" the eyes closed as the hoarse and harsh laughter erupted again, and this time Karkat heard the loud BANG as the gun went off. This time, he felt the bullet force its way through his fragile skin. This time, the shock did not save him. Each nerve in his body seemed to ignite in pain. His breathing ran ragged, and his lungs couldn't even a muster a yelp or a scream. He collapsed to the ground, just like his body had begged him to do earlier, seeing the soft green orbs again, in the shadows, in the distance..._


	4. Chapter 4

Karkat's eyes snapped open. His bare back was against something semi soft, but he couldn't quite recall what. He shook his head slowly as he sat up, only to be met with a shooting pain when he was only sitting up half way. He yelped, then covered his mouth. He had no idea where he was, and his eyes were still trying to adjust, so he had no intention of disturbing anything that might want him dead right now. And with his injury, he surely didn't need to disturb anyone, or anything at all. He rubbed his eyes, which allowed them to fully adjust to his surroundings. He blinked in disbelief. He was in his tent, on his bed, with his thin blanket. He gasped softly, then cringed at the pain that gave him. He slowly slid the blanket off him, to see a large bandage covering his stomach. At the center of his stomach, was a deep red spot. He was just about to get out of bed when...

"Don't move." It was a soft and feminine, but commanding voice. He froze instantly, but not in fear, in respect. "You'll hurt your self further." The voice had a purr to it, the R's rolling beautifully. "Who are you? Where's Gamzee? Oh Gog where's Sollux?" Karkat began to get up further, his eyes wide in panic. "I can assure you they're both quite alright. The yellow blooded one just barely, but quite alright nonetheless. The other one though, was a bit of a nightmare. Don't be shocked by his face when see him." The girl walked in slowly, the little sunlight hitting her. Karkat took the time to fully study her appearance.

Her hair was short, but cut choppily, as if with a hand knife. It went to her shoulders, just barely. She was toned and tanned, her green eyes being the most striking thing about her. They seemed to be cat-like, she seemed to be cat-like even. The way she walked gave hints at her agility, as she walked lightly, barely touching her heel to the ground with each step toward him. "Hold still." She gently tugged at the bandages ties at his back, slowly unwrapping the cloth. Karkat closed his eyes in pain as the final wrap was slowly pulled from his blood crusted skin. The strange girl breathed a soft sorry as she folded the bloodied cloth neatly. She found another bandage, and some alcohol with a rag. She poured some alcohol into the rag, then, without a warning, began to dab it onto the wound. Karkat let a scream escape his lips, as his hands grabbed a fistful of the blanket into each palm. The girl gave yet another apology as she finished cleaning the wound itself, and the area surrounding. She gently wrapped a clean bandage around his stomach yet again.

She backed off the minute the job was done, standing in the doorway. "There...the bleeding should of stopped by now. Just don't try to do anything strenuous for quite awhile." She slowly turned to leave, her slumped posture hinted that she was reluctantly going. "Wait! Who are you, and, why did you help me?" the last bit of Karkat's question seemed soft, as if he was scared to know the answer. "Just refer to me as the Cat-Girl. And before you ask, yes, I do have a name, but for my own reasons, I do not intend to tell you it. And as for your second question, I helped you because you needed it." She had turned herself back around just to look at him as she spoke, but then she turned again. "And I sincerely hope you help the animals...they need it more than ever." Those last words were meant to hit him, they were meant to be bitter. And by the soft whine of protest from Karkat, the objective worked. The girl did not wait for his response, but instead, ran off. He watched her leave, until he couldn't anymore. Watched at how quick she was, how her feet seemed to barely even touch the ground, even when she was running.

Karkat stared, and then cursed himself. He didn't even say thank you. All he did was ask her why she helped such a pathetic fool such as himself. Before he could pity himself more, a familiar troll appeared in his doorway. "Tho, did the Cat-Girl clean you up too?" Karkat smiled, recognizing the lisp. "Yeah, she did. What the fuck happened back there?" Now that Sollux was up and talking, he needed to know the situation. He heard a sigh from the Gemini, "Well, Gamzee just freaked out. Pulled hith gun out on me, tharted mumbling thit about Methiahs and that all the lowbloodth had to die. He thared at me for thuch a long time, and i was hoping to Gog that you would appear before he did thomething. But I gueth I can't really blame you, we both gave you thuch a hard time about you falling athleep. Anywayth, he thot me, and I vaguely remember theeing you appear, and I couldn't even thay anything to warn you." Another sigh. "Then I woke up to her thwitching out the bandageth, and told me you were fine too."

Karkat nodded, "I'm glad you're okay. I was so worried about you. I didn't even care what Gamzee did to me as long as i could of helped you, but he didn't really care for me at all." He shivered, recalling the maniacal laugh that would haunt him forever. "I feel like i let you down buddy..." Sollux walked, slowly toward Karkat. Each step pained Sollux, and Karkat could see that. Sollux hugged Karkat when he finally managed to get to him, and soon crippled into the trolls arms. "I'm hurt bud...hurt real bad..." Karkat hugged the other troll back, feeling sorrier and sorrier for this. "I don't know if we're gonna be able to complete the order..." Karkat shook his head, "Yes you will...just let Gamzee handle it."

Sollux stared at Karkat a long time, then sighed, nodding, knowing there was no other choice. It wasn't long until both the trolls heard Gamzee's loud cursing.

"**_WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO MY FACE?!_**"

* * *

**Author's Notes: Well hey guys! I am so glad that you're enjoying this! I'll try to produce longer chapters for you, but sometimes it's easier to leave them short, just to make the suspense grow and grow. I appreciate the feedback! If you guys have any suggestions, feel free to leave them in the reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

Gamzee's voice soon approached Karkat's tent, which held both the Cancer and the Gemini. Sollux made no effort to stand, as he had been injured the most and was currently the weakest out of the two, but Karkat stood quickly. He stood in front of Sollux, hardly caring for his wound. Gamzee ripped open the "door" of the tent, stepping in, his face drenched in purple. He had three large cuts going from his forward to his chin, dripping blood. They weren't deep, but due to the oh-so sensitive flesh of the face, it looked gorier than it was. **"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO ME?!"**

His eyes reverted to Karkat, and he snarled, "**DID YOU DO THIS YOU BITCH?!**" Karkat whimpered, but stood his ground. "No." Gamzee tilted his head. "**NO? THEN WHO DID? HUH? MAYBE I SHOULD GET MY GUN. MAYBE SHOOT YOU RIGHT BETWEEN THE MOTHERFUCKING EYES." **Karkat flinched at Gamzee's words, watching each movement he made closely. "No." That was all Karkat said. That was all Karkat said when Gamzee rushed at him, clutching his throat tightly between his fist. He said No when Gamzee pinned him against one of the sturdier columns of the tent. Soon, though, his No's turned into yelps and cries, which each successful blow to his stomach, his legs, his arms, and once, his face. Each hit sky rocketed his pain even higher than the last. Gamzee was livid with the red blood.

Sollux watched in horror, but when he tried to stand, he fell back down. He closed his eyes and let one single tear fall for his friend. He had been such a bad one to Karkat, but Karkat continued to fight for his survival. Why? What was the point in wasting his life for Sollux's? Gamzee's rage soon died down, after one final kick to the wound. Sollux grunted softly, on accident, but the noise was mistaken for Karkat's in Gamzee's mind. Karkat's whined, yelps, and whimpers had fallen silent, and in a way that meant victory for the clown. But now that the grunt was heard, his rage rebuilt. Sollux's eyes widened as Gamzee picked up Karkat, pulling and scratching off his bandages. Karkat managed the strength to yelp, and to make fruitless efforts to push him away. Once the bandages fell, Gamzee took out his hunting knife, and dug it into Karkat's still opened wound. Karkat screamed for a second, before succumbing into the pain as the knife reignited his nerves, Gamzee's eyes flared up at the pathetic sounds. _**"DON'T YOU KNOW WHEN TO DIE?"**_

Sollux closed his eyes now, keeping his mouth shut. He mouthed silent sorry's, hoping that Karkat could hear them. Gamzee dug the blade a bit deeper, before pulling it out quickly. He let the troll fall to the ground, blood gently trailing the corners of his mouth, but poured from the open wound. Sollux watched as Gamzee left, leaving him untouched. He trembled as he crawled to Karkat, yellowed tears falling. "Oh Gog...oh Gog..." Karkat was now barely breathing, each breath was wheezed. Sollux now saw the faint etch of red down his face. He had been crying, and Sollux hadn't even noticed. His hands went down the troll's face, shivering and trembling. Karkat's eyes opened for a bit, and he coughed and wheezed as he spoke, "It's all good buddy...promise..."

Sollux clutched him close, wishing and praying for the Cat-Girl. Sollux had no idea how to handle the blood, the wounds, or anything for that matter. "Thay awake...pleathe thay awake..."

Sollux's heart hurt so bad, he wasn't sure how he was still alive. He was holding onto his friend just as his friend was holding onto his life.

"Sollux...you know I have a bad time doing what I'm told..." Karkat grinned faintly, closing his eyes. Sollux smiled for a second, then let himself yell, "WE NEED YOU. WE NEED YOU. OH GOG WE NEED YOU. PLEASE." Sollux's voice was cracked, but loud. He was shivering and trembling as he watched the light start to fade from the Crab's eyes.

It was vague, but the person it was meant for knew it instantly.


	6. Chapter 6

Sollux cradled Karkat, listening intently for the soft sound of the Cat-Girl's feet against the dirt. In what seemed like forever, he heard the faintest patter, and soon she appeared in the doorway, hiding herself in the shadow. "H-He'th hurt..." Sollux choked out. The Cat-Girl nodded slowly, stepping forward to assess Karkat's health. She gasped, covering her mouth, before kneeling down. "What happened?"

"Gamzee went completely inthane about hith face. He accuthed Karkat, and tho he did thith." Sollux whispered quietly, watching as she gathered the bandages to apply pressure to the bleeding wound. "You need to keep pressure on it. I need to set up a few things. Do not release the pressure." Her voice sounded cold and emotionless to what had happened, but on the inside she was breaking apart. How could she of let that happen? She had left so eagerly, to get out of there. But the result was the one named Karkat near death. She shook her head at her thoughts, locking them away as she picked up a needle and thread. Karkat had finally started to stir from the pressure, and whimpered softly as he saw the Cat-Girl kneel down with a needle. "N-No...not again..." he whined, wincing as she came to an abrupt stop.

Sollux ruffled Karkat's hair, "Buddy the's here to help...that wound hath gotta get thewn up..." Karkat relaxed at the words, slowly letting himself calm down. The needle punctured his skin, slowly pulling the skin together in painful movement. Karkat gasped and gripped the dirt around him, trembling from all the physical trauma. "It's gonna be alright...I'm almost done..." she cooed softly, finishing off the poor stitching work. She slowly got up, grabbing the alcohol and rag again, and froze again when she heard Karkat yelp, "No!" She shook her head and knelt down again. "You have to let me do this...It was a poor job and the wound wasn't cleaned before hand...if you won't do it for me...do it for Sollux...please..." her voice was so soft, so pleading. Sollux sat quietly, pleading silently. She needed his consent. She knew she was hurting him. She needed an approval. She needed it. Karkat's eyes were wide, but he soon nodded, looking at her soft eyes. She nodded back, gently dabbing the wound. Karkat instantly cringed and tensed up, suppressing a loud yelp. She stopped for a moment, looking at him for permission to continue. He closed his tightly, relaxing slightly. The Cat-Girl saw this as a silent Yes. She gently continued her work, dabbing the wound, cleaning it the best she could. When she was done, she took a bandage, motioning him to sit up slightly. She wrapped the cloth around his stomach, making sure to be gentle with the stitches. "There...all done. No more." Karkat relaxed at the words, finally getting a full breath.

She got up silently, standing in the doorway. "I suggest you all take caution with him. Seeing as how neither of you will leave him. Be careful. I'm not sure how much more bloodshed has to happen before you two realize just how dangerous this job is." She turned. "And just think of the animals. This is how they feel." She ran off without another word. "What'th that thuppothed to mean?" Sollux asked himself, shaking his head and then reverting his attention to Karkat, who had lolled his head to the side to relax. He was breathing slow. Karkat can't remember when Sollux had helped him into bed. He hadn't remembered the covers being pulled over him. He hadn't remembered falling asleep. All he remembered was staring out the tent, seeing a mama lion. Gamzee was probably sheltered himself in his tent, and Sollux was too busy. But the lion was beautiful, she gently licked her cubs, completely unaware she could die any moment by poachers. And by poachers, he meant Sollux and Gamzee. He watched as she lovingly ran with them, playing with them slightly before the lion caught his gaze. His gaze must of had the message, "Run." because that was what she had done. She ran, leading her cubs away from the site. Karkat nodded to no one, thankful that at least for tonight, that beautiful family was still alive and well.

He kept staring at the outside, unaware that soon reality turned into a dream, but they were so close together, so similar. He saw the green eyes, staring at him. As if they were protecting him for the night. He smiled. Whether the eyes were in his dream, or if he was awake seeing them, didn't matter to him. They made him feel safe. As if nothing could hurt him under the gaze of them.


End file.
